One of my most favorite situations is to dine on “elegant food in a rustic setting”. And that was is what we enjoyed at Scarabo Stone Camp in the Agafy desert. Delicious dishes, made with fresh ingredients steeped in traditional methods and seasonings. The meals were served in an elegantly simple style beneath tents with the desert wrapped all around.

I’ve been fortunate enough to dine at many of the top restaurants in the world, most of which have been extremely pleasing. But, for me, somehow it tastes better to have quality cuisine with a little less formality, to enjoy it in a more authentic setting {but with champagne, of course!}

The tables were simply set with local products and authentic features like a simple strand of leather tied around the napkins. Fresh pressed juices welcomed us to the table.

North African cuisine is mostly centered around vegetables usually a collection of interesting salads with Moroccan spices. Here we have a salade de tomate, a farrow grain salad, roasted cauliflower and carrots with spices and rice. Vegetable and chicken kebabs roasted over an open fire.

Flatbreads made in a dome shaped oven over an open wood fire were featured at every meal and then of course, there were the tagines.

For hundreds of years tagines have been perched over smoldering fires across these desert plains to create satisfying meals in this open, arid land. The conical shape holds in the the moisture from the meats and vegetables and redistributes it back into the dish, creating tender, savory meals to be enjoyed around the open fire.

The number of tagine recipes are almost as infinite as grains of sand in the desert. This Kafta is a Moroccan classic, meatballs in a smoky tomato sauce.

We enjoyed this one so much I’ve actually been perfecting a recipe for it which I am going to share with you soon. Here we are with our warm and wonderful attendant who was on hand to help us with anything and everything. I miss him!

My friends were so sweet to make my dreams of sleeping in a bedouin tent come true for my birthday. My birthday dinner was so special, the music, table setting rose petals, candles, company, the stray cat. Visit me on instagram to see the incredible birthday song the incredible Biaye Kaoussou and crew sang that night right over there ->->->

I always love an “after” picture from a memorable dinner and this will always be one of my favorites.